Our purpose is to give God glory. Sin has damaged our glorified condition. God so loved us that He gave His Son to restore that pre-fallen glory. His salvation is more than a trip to heaven. It is His Kingdom come upon this earth. (Read Romans 8:29-30)

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Sunday, October 4, 2009

When Do You Shake the Dust from Your Feet?

My church has a breakfast the first Sunday of each month. The original intent was to provide a time when people from both of our morning services could get to know each other. It has turned into something else.

It has become an opportunity for our members to invite unchurched friends. I am so glad we do the breakfast even though the crowd is almost unmanageable. We fellowship and truly get to know new people.

We have also used this breakfast as an opportunity to invite people who have recently visited our church. Even visitors who have been for some time know about the breakfast and inviting them is unnecessary. There were 134 people on this list. The lady who normally makes these calls was sick so I decided I would call all these people.

Some of these people were thankful and very pleasant. The majority of them were rude. I thought, "I am inviting you to free breakfast and you want to be rude to me! How does that make any sense?"

Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the gospel. They were to enter each town and seek that town's hospitality. There were to "shake the dust from their feet as a testimony against them" if the town didn't receive them. The gospel is better than a free breakfast. Shaking the dust was an expression of no connection with or responsibility for these people. They had heard and rejected. Their condemnation was their own fault.

I suppose I make a slight distinction between those who were rude to me when I invited them to the breakfast. I always told who I was.- Remember I am the pastor of a church they have already visited.- Some were rude. Others were downright hateful. Those that were hateful were obviously not rejecting me but the church and the gospel. Is it time to shake our feet?

The answer is whether or not you are called to these people. You should continue to witness to the people God called you to until God tells you to do something else. It isn't whether or not they were rude or rejected you or the gospel alone. If so, Jesus would have shook His feet on the cross and said that all of us are bound for hell. He came for us. He knew that there would be those who rejected Him but others would follow who would receive Him.

I imagine I will sit in a heavenly cafeteria some day with God's saints. Paul will tell of his stonings and ultimately losing his head. James will mention being cut apart with swords. I will tell of people being rude to me on the telephone. I imagine there will be a silent moment-- Just before the laughter!

I will not shake the dust off my feet because I am called to this place and these people. I pray I will remember that I don't work for them anyway. I belong to the Lord.